Bamako left 46 soldiers from Ivory Coast, who have been detained in Mali for about 6 months, yesterday afternoon, Saturday, the day after the President of the Military Council in Mali, Asimi Guetta, pardoned them, according to navigational and diplomatic sources.
"The plane carrying 46 soldiers from Ivory Coast took off from Bamako," an airport official in the Malian capital told AFP, on condition of anonymity.
The soldiers were arrested at Bamako airport on July 10, 2022, and Mali accused them of being "mercenaries" trying to undermine state security, before issuing a 20-year prison sentence against them.
3 women, including them, were previously released in mid-September, and were sentenced to death in absentia.
They were all convicted of charges including "crimes of assault and conspiracy against the government, attacking the external security of the state, and possession, carrying and transporting weapons and military ammunition."
Ivory Coast called for their release, stressing that they were on a United Nations mission.
Togo mediation
The case caused great tension between two "brotherly countries" and two neighbors with complex relations.
Since their arrest, Abidjan confirmed that these soldiers were on a mission to the United Nations as part of the logistical support operations of its mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and demanded their release.
Ivory Coast and the United Nations confirm that these soldiers were supposed to participate in ensuring the security of the German contingent operating within the international peacekeeping force in Mali.
And the head of the Military Council in Mali, Colonel Asimi Guita, issued a pardon for them, "with all charges dropped" against them, according to a presidential decree.
Mali had accused Ivory Coast of inciting its partners in West Africa to tighten sanctions against the military who carried out two coups in Mali, one in August 2020 and the second in May 2021, and the sanctions were finally lifted in early July.
Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé played a crucial role as mediator with a view to their release, and the authorities in Mali and Ivory Coast applauded his mediation.